Frank Simon Hofmann

František Simon Hofmann (27 December 1916 in Prague, Austria-Hungary – 13 April 1989 in Auckland, New Zealand), widely known as Frank Simon Hofmann was a Czech photographer who was recognised for his art in both Europe and New Zealand.

Biography

Hofmann was born in Prague, the son of a prosperous Jewish businessman. He was givern his first camera by his mother at 13 to use on a trip to Venice, and at 16 joined the Prague Photographic Society. first joining cousins in Christchurch, where he began working as a freelance photographer. and became a foundation member of the Auckland String Players (later who developed into the Symphonia of Auckland), where he played violin and later served as the management chairman).

Hofmann died in Auckland on 13 April 1989.

Personal life

Hofmann married editor and poet Helen Lilian Shaw in Auckland on 24 December 1941. Together they had two sons.

Photography

During his time at the Prague Photographic Society, he acquired a knack of both Romantic Pictorialism and modernist New Objectivity. Hofmann is widely seen as one of the leading figures of New Photography, which influenced the contemporary photography movement in New Zealand. His photographs were typically of urban landscapes.